Lee Aaron: Live in White Rock (July 6, 2023)

Rock and roll icon Lee Aaron and her crackerjack band played an unusual gig last night in White Rock, British Columbia. Not only was it a free concert played outside by the beach, it was also played for a hometown crowd, since Aaron now resides in the area. She joked to the all-ages crowd that they probably recognized her from shopping at Canadian Tire. 

Aaron’s voice remains as mighty and as impressive as it has always been. The sound mix allowed us to hear her vocal gifts loud and clear, with many nicely timed echo effects for dramatic emphasis. Aaron’s husband John Cody played thundering drums; Dave Reimer played propulsive bass lines and sang soulful backup; and superstar guitarist Sean Kelly flew in from Ontario to wow the crowd with his virtuoso shredding and glam-inflected backup singing, snarling, and pouting.

My sister lives in White Rock and, regular beachgoer that she is, has a paddleboard strapped to the roof of her car. So she easily drove us down the hill from her place, and used her special resident parking savvy to find us a most convenient car spot around the corner from the beach.

The concert venue was at the west beach, which has a nice little patch of grass overlooking the water and sand, separated from the area only by a fence and train track. That means the concert, which started at the magic hour sunset timing of 8:30pm, was adorned with the beautiful lighting of the open sky and the soothingly expansive ocean vista. Some people watched from boats in the water, others on the grass in front of the stage, and still more looked on from beachfront restaurants or home-front terraces.

I was pleasantly surprised by how excellent the concert was. Aaron played a full arena-sized set of eighteen songs, ninety minutes long, including an encore. The musicianship was impeccable and the concert versions of the songs had remarkably palpable enthusiasm added to them. You could tell the band was comfortable in the setting and having a blast playing the gig.

Aaron’s multiple decades of experience showed that there’s no pro like an old pro. She strutted and danced around the stage, singing her sweet little heart out. Happily interacting with and gazing into the eyes of the fans crowded around the stage, she even dedicated one song to the teenage girls up front jumping up and down all night.

She frequently strapped on a guitar, throwing mighty superhero kicks into the air as she roared around the fretboard. I was continually amazed by how incredible she sounds when playing live. 

Aaron remarked to the crowd that if, that evening, she could inspire just one girl there to write songs and get into rock and roll, then her mission was accomplished. I would be surprised if she failed at this goal, because her show was undeniably exceptional and inspirational. 

I noted that the crowds of young girls coming to dance in front of the stage only increased over the evening, and that they were the first ones to hold up their phone camera flashlights as lighters. This illuminated Aaron’s ballad intimacies, well-timed for after the sunset.

On balance, the concert wasn’t a parade of old hits from the 1980s. Aaron noted to the crowd that she has released six new albums since 2016. (That impressive half-dozen includes a Christmas album, as well as a superb live disc from Germany on both a CD and a DVD, which I would highly recommend if you read this review and wish you could see a show. The recorded evidence backs up my assertion that Lee Aaron is still shining brightly in the rock and roll pantheon.)

For last night’s set, Aaron played two songs from Metal Queen (1984), two from Lee Aaron (1987), four from Bodyrock (1989), two from Some Girls Do (1991), one from Fire and Gasoline (2016), three from Diamond Baby Blues (2018), two from Radio On (2021), and two from Elevate (2022).

When it comes to the studio versions, I can play favorites with many of the songs. But when hearing them live—because they each reach new elevations with the spontaneous gusto the band adds when singing and playing them—it’s hard to pick out highlights. In the moment, your favorite song is the one you are both seeing and hearing right then. 

That said, my sister’s favorite was “Metal Queen,” and mine was “Lady of the Darkest Night,” for unavoidably nostalgic reasons.

Lee Aaron still passes the live music test with flying colors. It’s not rock and roll at its finest unless it’s the full sensory experience, and it’s hard to top an oceanside setting. Last night, by storming the beach scene of the unique White Rock, Canada’s one-and-only Lee Aaron truly slayed. God save the metal queen.

Set List:

• “Vampin’,” from Radio On (2021)
• “Hands On,” from Bodyrock (1989)
• “Black Cat,” from Diamond Baby Blues (2018)
• “Elevate,” from Elevate (2022)
• “Powerline,” from Lee Aaron (1987)
• “Lady of the Darkest Night,” from Metal Queen (1984)
• “Diamond Baby,” from Diamond Baby Blues (2018)
• “Nasty Boyz,” from Bodyrock (1989)
• “Sweet Talk,” from Bodyrock (1989)
• “Some Girls Do,” from Some Girls Do (1991)
• “Sex With Love,” from Some Girls Do (1991)
• “Fire and Gasoline,” from Fire and Gasoline (2016)
• “Only Human,” from Lee Aaron (1987)
• “Twenty One,” from Radio On (2021)
• “Rock Bottom Revolution,” from Elevate (2022)
• “Metal Queen,” from Metal Queen (1984)
• “Whatcha Do to My Body,” from Bodyrock (1989)
• “I’m a Woman,” from Diamond Baby Blues (2018)